Assassins Creed: Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was released March 2025 after being announced at Ubisoft Forward in September of 2022. The game was produced by Karl Omnee and is set in 16th century Japan towards the end of the Sengoku period. It was released for MacOS, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox series S/X with a version for IPadOS due to come out at a later date. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an action-adventure game that is centred around two protagonists Fujibayashi Naoe a skilled kunoichi (female ninja) and Yasuke an African Samurai inspired by the historical figure. The pair form an allience after Naoe goes on a quest to avenge her father and uncover the truth behind a mysterious box entrusted in her care, her journey reveals deep-seated conspiracies involving the Shinbakufu (a secretive faction manipulating historical events for their own gain) and Yasuke confronts his past such as his enslavement and the brutal actions of Duarte de Melo (a templar operative). The pairs alliance leads to them confronting t powerful foes like Akechi Mitsuhide and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, culminating in a battle to protect Japan's future from hidden threats, advocating for peace and liberty, and the Templar Order.  

Unlike other games in the franchise Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces a new way to play as missions are non-linear, encouraging players to track and eliminate targets freely with the new stealth mechanics. Another way in which its different is that the viewpoints don't tell you everything and encourage exploration therefore making the game less structured. 

The Production 

Ubisoft has not yet disclosed how much they invested in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but people have speculated that the production cost was somewhere between $250 million and $350 million. In 2024 Ubisoft’s CEO revealed that the delay of the game would cost an additional $20 million in costs. 

Reports suggest that over 3,000 people worked on Assassin's Creed Shadows, with Ubisoft enlisting the efforts of teams from around the globe. Approximately half of the development team consisted of newcomers to the industry, many who were working on their first game. The game's development was led by Marc-Alexis Côté, Vice President and Executive Producer at Ubisoft with nearly two decades of experience. Côté emphasizes the importance of creating immersive fantasy universes, maintaining relevance, and innovating with each instalment. He views the Assassin’s Creed franchise in phases: the early action-adventure period, the RPG evolution with titles like Origins and Odyssey, and the current phase, which includes Mirage. 

Reflection Of The Games Market 

Assassins' creed reflects the market of 2025 in many ways one of them being the current demand for diverse representation and it does this by featuring a Black samurai and a Japanese kunoichi (female ninja), Shadows addresses long-standing calls for diversity in games. This reflects the industry's increased focus on authentic storytelling and underrepresented voices, both in character design and narrative. This positions the game not just as entertainment, but as part of a broader shift toward more thoughtful and globally aware storytelling in AAA titles. 

Another way in which its done this is by gameplay evolution for Modern preferences for example the use of Dual Protagonists and Dual Playstyles - Yasuke represents power-based, action combat; Naoe provides stealth and agility. This appeals to players who want choice and gameplay variety, a key market expectation. 

Audience 

Demographic Profile: 

Age: 18 – 25 

Gender: Predominantly Male – however they are trying to tap into a female audience 

Income: Middle class as they need to be able to affoard gaming consoles/PC’s and AAA Games 

Marketing 

The game was marketed in a very modern approach such as the use of Influencer campaigns. UBISOFT spent $2.1 million on influencer campaigns in order to secure the launch of Assassins Creed Shadows, they did this to meet a market where discoverability and hype are driven by popular influences on platforms such as TikTok, Twitch and YouTube 

The game very much has transmedia Potential with its unique characters and setting, Shadows is ripe for potential spinoffs, merchandise, and possibly TV or film adaptations—aligning with the trend of turning franchises into multimedia ecosystems. 

Regulation 

PEGI rated Assassins Creed Shadows an 18+, this is due to the nature of the game and the intense violence such as assassinations and graphic depictions of blood and the use of strong language which can be damaging for the minds of younger audiences and could possibly even influence the use of violence as younger audiences are more likely to be influenced by things they see on a screen.  

The Japanese version of the game has been censored to comply with local regulations. The option to toggle dismemberment has been removed, and certain violent scenes have been altered or omitted to meet the standards set by Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) 

Benefits Of The Franchise Model 

There are multiple benefits for the franchise model for games such as Assassins Creed such as the fact there is already a loyal fanbase constantly waiting for the next game people who have been playing for over a decade and continue to love and support the franchise as players know what to expect in terms of gameplay, mechanics and themes which lowers the risk for both the developer and the player as the developer knows they have a built in fanbase ready and waiting to buy the game and returning players can feel less risk spending their money on the game as they know what to expect already therefore low risk, high reward. However this could limit creativity as if they were to change it up too many fans could reject the game entirely as it's not the same as what they already know and love and familiarity plays a huge role in keeping the game relevant yet if it's too similar to the other games fans could get bored and move onto something else so it's about meeting in the middle. 

Another benefit is that with each new instalment, developers can refine and expand on the mechanics and features that worked well in previous games. This allows them to keep the gameplay fresh while retaining the elements that fans love. 

Power and Media Industries – Curran and Seaton 

Curran and Seaton's theory states that a small number of conglomerates are primarily driven by profit and power and that large conglomerates limit creativity and do not take many risks compared to smaller companies who take more risks and can be more diverse and creative 

Assassins Creed Shadows is developed by UBISOFT one of the biggest Gaming conglomerates in the world, its dominance in AAA games reflects the media concentration Curran and Seaton criticize. Ubisoft's grip on the franchise means content is shaped by commercial priorities, not public interest or creative freedom.  

The Assassins Creed franchise is part of a wider media monopoly where blockbuster titles are prioritised over smaller riskier projects as all conglomerates care about is making the most amount of profit. Ubisoft's business model focuses on long term franchises, sequels and potential spin offs supporting the theory that the concentration of ownership leads to standardised content that prioritises proffability over innovation. 

While Assassins Creeds Shadows introduces federal Japan and dual protagonists it still follows the typical open world structure and the use of having a female protagonist can be viewed as a strategic marketing decision rather than genuine risks. These choices could be seen as a way of appealing to current trends reflecting commercial motives rather than a desire to expand narrative depth or challenge industry norms. 

Cultural Industries – David Hesmondhalgh  

David Hesmondhalgh argues that cultural industries are dominated by large companies that aim to minimise risk and maximise profit. This is often acheived through vertical and horizontal integration and by using formatting such as relying on established genres, narratives and characters. 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows being developed by UBISOFT, a global media conglomerate and the game being part of the ongoing Assassins Creed franchise demonstrates a key strategy of the cultural industries – investing in established brands to guarantee a loyal fanbase and high sales, Minimise Risk, Maximise Reward which it does by using the same fandom and business model that is known to be successful and make profits. Putting out an Assassins Creed game is almost guaranteeing profits and success due to the huge fandom who are constantly waiting for the next release. Therefore, by building on an already successful formula Ubisoft reduces financial risk. 

Another way in which the franchise reduces risk is by it taking feedback from the fans on social media such as Reddit and Twitter and using that feedback to help decide what to do next. By taking feedback directly from the consumer they are almost eliminating risk entirely.  

Ubisoft demonstrates vertical integration by controlling all stages of production and integration for ACS from development in it’s inhouse studios with new game developers to digital and physical publishing across global platforms. It also uses horizontal integration by connecting the game to a larger media ecosystem  

Therefore, Assassins Creed Shadows is a perfect example of how cultural industries operate – Ubisoft prioritises profit over originality by using brand familiarity and integration to reduce risk and even how its most innovative features serve commercial goals – reinforcing Hesmondhalghs view that the cultural industries limit real diversity in order for success.